Ernest a



E. A. LOWE. FUSIBLB GUT-OUT.

i UQ Model.)

Patented Peb. l, 1898.

UNITED Srarns a'rNr rares,

ERNEST A. LOVE, OF NORTH PLAINFIELD, NEV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELE, AND J. JONES it* SON, OF NEV YORK, il. Y.

FUSIBLE CUT-OUT.

SPECIFECA TGN forming part of Letters Patent No. 598,106, dated February 1, 1898.

Application filed March 5, 1897. Serial No. 626,162. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may con/cern:

Be it known that l, ERNEST A. LOWE, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Plainfield, in the county of Somerset and State of New Jersey, have invented an lmprovem ent in Fusible Out-Outs for Electric Circuits, of which the following is a specication.

Various devices have heretofore been employed for supporting a fusible strip or Wire in an electric circuit, which melts when the current is abnormally high, and this fusible Wire has to be replaced frequently While the current is upon the line, and difficulty has been experienced in effecting this object because the devices that secure the terminals of the conductors have usually been made use of in securing the fusible Wire. Hence the conductors are liable to become loose in preparing the cut-out for the reception of another fusible Wire.

I make use of a box having an opening through it, so that the insulated electric conductors can be threaded through the opening in the box, and after this has been done spring terminals or electrodes are permanently connected to the ends of the conductors and the terminals are drawn back into the box and held therein in such a manner that the box itself is conveniently held by the conductors, and a removable plug is provided for insertion between the terminals, such plug being of insulating material, and the fusible strip is connected directly with the plug, and without the intervention of clamping-screws or similar devices, by the ends being bent into recesses and the strip passed across the body of the plug in such a manner that When the plug is inserted the fusible strip is brought into direct Contact with the terminals of the conductors.

ln the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section representing the holder and the parts in position for use. Figs. 2 and 3 are detached elevations of the plug, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view at the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

The circuit-Wires A and B are to be of any desired character and usually insulated, and the box O is made of porcelain or other insulating material, and such box is open at one end, but has at the other end a partition a, there being openings at opposite sides of this 'can be passed.

partition through which the circuit-Wires A B The spring terminals or electrodes E and F are preferably of sheet metal, and they are of a Width to correspond to the interior Width of the box O, and they are Wider than the circuit-Wires and are slipped in from the open end of the box and their rear ends stopped against the shoulders or ledges 5, and the other ends of these electrodes form spring-latches 6, that spring into and engage the box at recesses made in the inner surfaces of the box. One of these terminals is to be permanently connected to each circuit-Wire in any suitable manner.

l prefer to have a nut 14C permanently soldered to the terminal and a screw 7 passing into such nut, the circuit-Wire being bent around as an eye through which the screw passes, and it is to be understood that the box O is to be threaded upon the circuit-wires or the circuit-Wires passed through the box at opposite sides of thepartition 4, and then the terminals or electrodes E F are permanently fastened to the ends of the circuit- Wires, and these terminals are drawn back into the box and are held firmly therein by the shoulders- 5 at one end and the springlatches at the other end engaging the recesses Within the box, and after the parts have thus been prepared it is not necessary when renewing a fusible wire to disturb the box or the terminals or electrodes.

The removable plug G is adapted to be passed into and held within the open end of the box O, and it is advantageous to bend the electrodes E F to form springs for holding in this removable plug G, there being recesses at opposite sides of the plug in which such springs act in holding in the plug, but the recesses in the plug should have inclined surfaces, so that the plug can be drawn out by grasping the flanges S at the outer end of such removable plug. The fusible material is in the form of a Wire or strip 15 of the desired resistance, and it is laid across the end of the removable plug and along the sides thereof before such removable plug is inserted into the box, so that in the act of pushing this plug into place the fusible strip or wire is firmly pressed against the surfaces of the terminals or electrodes E F, and thereby the IOO circuit is closed through such fusible strip or wire.

The fusible cut-outs in electric-lighting circuits are very frequently in out-of-the-way places, where it is difficult to obtain the necessary light or to conveniently reach such cutonts for the insertion of the fusible strip after one has been blown out or melted. In the present invention, however, the plug G can be pulled out with facility and the fusible wire or strip applied upon the surface thereof and reinserted without requiring dexterity, and the same can even be done in the dark, because the plug G can be taken out of the box and the wire applied upon the surface thereof at a distance from the box or wherever the party can see to put the wire in position, and then the plug is to be returned to place by simply pushing it into the box.

I iind it convenient to provide guides l2, or a groove across the inner end of the plug, to aid in holding the fusible wire or strip in position, and it is also advantageous to make a hole or holes for the reception of the ends of the fusible wire. I have shown recesses at l0 and holes at ll, into which the ends of the wire can be inserted, and these being at right angles, or nearly so, to the position of the wire as it passes across the plug will holdV such wire reliably in position, and the wire usually being of soft metal can be bent and introduced into place, and it will set closely in position upon the plug while the plug is inserted into thev box, and in so doing the spring-electrodes yield and then grasp the plug and at the same time apply the necessary pressure between the spring-electrodes and the fusible wire.

In consequence of the terminals being securely held within the box they are retained in the proper position and the box also is maintained in the proper position to the terminals, and when a fusible strip has to be introduced it is held to the removable plug by bending it around such removable plug with the ends in the recesses or openings, thereby dispensing with screws or clamping devices, which not only add to the cost of the fusible cut-out, but the parts are liable to become separated and lost, especially in the inconvenient locations where such safetyswitches are very frequently applied.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination with the circuit-wires, of springterminals one permanently connected to each wire independent of any support, a box having an opening through it, and threaded upon the insulated wires and receiving and holding the spring-terminals within it and a removable plug and fusible strip therewith connected, inserted into the box with the fusible strip in contact with such terminals, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the box, open at one end and having a partition at the other end, of the circuit-wires at opposite sides of the partition, spring-terminals permanently connected with the circuit-wires and wider than such circuit-wires, there being shoulders or ledges forming stops for the terminals at one end and-projections within the box to engage the other ends of the terminals, a removable plu g and a fusible wire or strip upon the surface thereof inserted into the box and between the spring-terminals, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the circuit-wires, of a box open at one end, spring-terminals permanently connected with the wires and received within and held by the box, a removable plug recessed at its sides and receiving across it the fusible wire or strip so that the plug and the fusible wire are held bythe Spring-terminals when inserted in the box and between such terminals, substantially as set forth.

4. A box of insulating material having a partition at one end and holes through which the circuit-wires pass, and recesses or stops at the other end, in combination with springelectrodes to which the circuit-wires are permanently connected, such electrodes being held between the stops and within the box, a removable plug recessed at the side and having holes for the reception of the ends of the fusible wire and adapted to be inserted into the open ends of the box and between the spring-electrodes, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 2d day of March, 1897.

ERNEST A. LOWE.

Witnesses:

HAROLD SERRELL, S. T. I-IAvILAND. 

